I cringe every time AKC sends out a notice about "responsible dog owners" and encourages us to have a day to celebrate them.
Why do we celebrate "Mother's Day" and not "Loving Mother's Day"?
Because there is a presumption of mother=love and nurture. Not always the case, I realize, but surely it is true most of the time.
Why do we have "President's Day" and not "Ethical President's Day"?
Again, there is a a presumption of ethics and honor among those who hold the highest office in our land. Not all of them, most likely, but the overwhelming majority have been ethical, honorable men.
Why do we have "Parents' Night" at school, instead of "Dependable Parents' Night"? After all, those who don't show up must surely be unreliable and uncaring! Why not infer that in the title of the event?
It's all in the nuance of the language we use, folks. Just including a feel-good adjective like "responsible" in the phrase "responsible dog owners" infers that there is a reciprocal and significantly large segment of irresponsible dog owners out there. And of course, we need more rules and regulations to deal with them! Just ask the animal rights groups, the humane societies and the "rescuers".
That's the short lesson for today. It seems so obvious and simple, yet very few people seem to have a grasp on life's self-evident truths.
You beat me to the punch here. I have a scheduled post called, "The assumed inadequacy of breeders." It asks why do we feel compelled to prepend "reputable" or "responsible" with breeder.
ReplyDeleteGood post.